The Journey A Song Can Take: Vanessa Peters Reflects On Path To New Single, “Crazymaker”

As many songwriters know, sometimes you write a song so good that you can’t let it go.

For some, that means it bounces around in your head for days, weeks or months before you finally get it onto tape. For others, it might even mean holding onto it for years or decades until the perfect moment arises to put it out into the world. One way or another, however, the spark of creative inspiration is so persistent that it just won’t let you be. 

One writer who’s well-acquainted with this phenomenon is Dallas’ Vanessa Peters, who began writing her new single “Crazymaker” back in 2016 and finally released it on February 26 via Idol Records. With a blissful, breezy vibe underscored by hints of melancholy, the single is a perfect testament to why you should see some songs all the way through. 

“‘Crazymaker’ was originally intended for my last album, ‘Foxhole Prayers,’” Peters told American Songwriter. “But, as recording for that album progressed, it became clear that this song would be an outlier, so we set it aside.”

And “aside” the song sat for several years, untouched. Yet, Peters couldn’t seem to get the song’s infectious chorus or blissful, jangle-pop guitar lines out of her head. “I wrote the chorus all in one sitting several years ago,” she explained. “The words and melody came at the same time, the idea just stuck in my head and played relentlessly until I got it down on paper. I couldn’t not write it—it insisted on being written.”

For that reason, “Crazymaker” jumped straight-to-mind when Peters sat down to begin planning her new album, Modern Age, which is due on April 23. “It was a natural fit for this batch of songs—which is much more pop-rock,” Peters said. “We polished the guitars this summer during our farmhouse recording session. I had to re-track the vocals because a few of the lyrics had changed, but otherwise, it was almost ready to go when we took it out of ‘storage.’”

Polished, a little reworked and still with the same sentiment that inspired it nearly half a decade ago, “Crazymaker” finally hit streaming platforms with a bright, hopeful energy. In many ways, the emotional theme of the song is effortlessly captured by its sound—another reason why it was imperative for Peters to share it.

“I think a lot of people in unhealthy relationships blame themselves for not breaking free from the person who is controlling them,” she explained. “But I think being trapped in a relationship with someone who drains you emotionally and mentally is way more common than maybe we realize—maybe hearing that message in a catchy tune will allow listeners to absorb it more readily.”

Watch the music video to the new single, “Crazymaker,” by Vanessa Peters below: